A Chinese teen has proven that he is Apple fanboy of the year by selling his kidney to get an iPad2. According to the Daily Telegraph the 17-year-old boy, !Zheng", confessed to his mother that he had sold the kidney after spotting an online advertisement offering cash to anyone prepared to become an organ donor.

The kidtravelled north to the city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province where the kidney was removed at a local hospital which discharged him after three days, paying a total of RMB22,000 for the organ. The boy, who has suffered complications following the surgery, returned home but was unable to keep what he had done from his mother.

His mother was not a fanboy she thought he had bought a laptop and iPod with the cash. It was all illegal of course but when the mother took the son back to Chenzhou to report the crime to the police, the mobiles of the three agents that Zheng had contacted were all switched off. The hospital had contracted out its urology department to a private businessman who denied any knowledge of the surgery.

Of course the boy has his shiny toy which will be out of date in a year. His kidney however should have lasted him a lifetime.

Apple products are seen as a badge of wealth and sophistication. But there are concerns that they are a sign of a poor moral standard amongst the Chinese youth. Certainly they are becoming as shallow as Americans.